Radiant or convector stove?

[Hanser]

My lad is being advised to have a 'convector type' stove (make/size not yet know) installed in a through room (3m/1.5M) with solid brick hearth/stone mantel. This room links on one side to a downstairs hall way and on the other side through to a kitchen. The idea is that the stove principally heats the through room but also 'spills' to the kitchen and the hallway

 

Is there any real difference as all stoves radiate and convect? Is it marketing guff or something that needs consideration? . Really interested to know what you pro's think.

Thanks.

[Alycidon]

Hi.

 

I retail stoves and sell both radiating and convector stoves.

 

Traditional stoves are all radiating stoves, the flames heat the metal, the metal radiates heat into the room, simples.

 

Convecting stoves have air channels between the firebox and the outer case, air is drawn into the bottom of the stove and passes by convection around the firebox and emerges at the top of the stove, no moving parts, all done through heat convection. A convector stove does also radiate heat as it gets hot but it usually does not get as hot as a radiating stove meaning that furnature etc can be placed a bit closer, ie the minimum combustible clearance is less. Convectors are also slightly more efficient and most have a terciery burn system to re ignite the smoke and the particles within in, so more flame, more heat and less pollution up the flue. A win win win situation.

 

A room of 3m x 1.5m x say 2.4m tall ( so 11 cu m in volume) given poor insulation will want a heat output of around 1kw, yes one kw. to heat the room to 22C if its 1C outside.

 

If the room is a lounge area then dont go above 4kw, you will get heat spillage yes but not as much as you might think unless you put an Ecofan on the top.

 

The couple should buy the stove they like the look of the best, at the end of the day its them and no one else thats going to have to look at it. Yes convectors are nice, more efficient, bigger flames etc but they are at the top of the price scale so you do pay for the benefits.

 

If the stove is an inset the Esse 301 and Aarow I400s are nice convectors, radiating inset then most are 5kw, ( Aarow Ecoburn 5 Plus Inset), the Broseley Evolution 4kw is a radiating inset but is a dedicated wood burner. Personally I don't like the Broseley as its ash removal is tricky.

 

Freestanding, then convector Morso S11/42 (4kw) stands out a long way in a narrow field, most convectors are 5kw -8kw, radiating Esse 500 (3.8kw), Aarow Ecoburn Plus 4 (4kw) and Acorn (4kw), Morso 1430 (4.6kw) would be my shortlist of good and best quality stoves.

 

Hope that helps.

 

A

Edited April 20, 2014 by Alycidon

[Hanser]

Thanks for a comprehensive post.

At some stage the 'through' room will be extended outwards so they will take that into account when sizing. They also plan to install a stove in their lounge. Your advice re choosing a stove that they like sounds good to me. I've bought/installed 4 radiating wood burners in 2 houses and only changed out one cheapo Godin for a Euroheat Harmony 1 (love that one) Getting the sizing right for the space is I think more critical than whether the stove is a convector or not.

Edited April 20, 2014 by Hanser

[Alycidon]

Agreed, Harmony is a good stove, I have a Harmony 3 (16kw) in a 9kw detached games room, superb for 45 mins then far to hot, hence I am always banging on about not buying a stove that is to big. There was no dealer advice or survey on this job, my wife said I want that one, dealer said fine 2k, so I paid, done and dusted in 5 mins.

 

My lounge stove is a Morso, I sized that to work correctly, had it running all day today.

 

A

[Hanser]

Ouch! Those Harmony stoves have moved up in price. I bought mine in 2004 for £1k, stuck in the back of my Saab estate (somewhat down on the springs) and installed it in a barn in France and made winter breaks very comfortable.